During registration, all classes look cool. You may register as many as you would wish; sometimes, people do. Within the semester, you will realize that some causes were not as impressive as you thought. Again, they add to the workload, and you may not be able to keep up. Here are 6 reasons to drop a class. They are acceptable and legit.
As a student, you do not need to take too many classes that may reduce your GPA. There are the minimum classes that you are required to take to graduate. You are allowed to add some few that will build you career-wise. However, you should be wise when choosing the extra classes. They should not interfere with your normal college life.
The process of dropping a class may be long and scary. However, you should weigh the pros and cons of dropping the class. You should also consider the weight of your reasons.
Get an advisor to take you through the process of dropping a class. You may even consider talking with your professor, the registrar and a friend who has taken the class in the previous years. They will help you with the options, or advise you on what to do if the class is needed for you to graduate.
The Top 6 Reasons to Drop a Class
It is not a walk in the class. And it may be past the add/drop period of the semester. If you do it so late in the semester, you may not qualify for a school fees refund. But the following reasons are weighty enough to forego the refund.
Failure is Inevitable
When in college, we want to take the classes that will add some benefit to our resume. Taking extra courses gives us an advantage ahead of our peers.
When you are taking classes, you have probably assessed your ability. You are sure you can hack it. However, the name of the course may be confusing. If you do not have a background in the class, you are likely to fail.
There is no need to struggle with a class if you failed in the midterm test, and you are not likely to recover.
Drop that class and save your GPA. You can consider taking that class at a later semester if it is a requirement for graduation. It will be a greater relief if it is not a requirement as you will not need to attend that class again in your college career.
Do not worry too much on what employers would say if they found out you dropped a class. Many of them will admire the fact that you were able to identify your weaknesses and acted accordingly. It shows you are self observant, and you can be a reliable employee. It is a good trait that you can apply in your business. If you see a certain practice is not productive, you can quit and apply an alternative practice.
Withdrawing from a class you are sure you would fail will create you more time to concentrate on your other classes and Raise your GPA.
It is not a Requirement for Your Major
It is a good idea to add an extra class outside your major when you need additional skill. However, you should only do that when you need the skill and have the capacity to handle the workload.
There are instances that you think that a particular class is a requirement for your major, so you take it up. After a few classes, you realize that it was not a requirement. What you should do is visit the relevant offices and drop the cause before it is too late, you can then take up the class that you needed for your major.
You Changed Your Major
Colleges give you the freedom to change your major within the semester. However, there is a timeline to the withdraw deadline. It allows you to have enough time to catch up with the students that started the class at the beginning of the semester.
Should you consider changing your major because it was too difficult for you, you will need to drop some classes. You can maintain some classes that align with your new major, but some classes will no longer be useful.
Some reasons that may lead you to change your major include your career. College courses have names that are quite similar, especially the art and business classes. Within the first few weeks of the semester, you may realize that it is not the major you needed. You can, therefore, switch to a suitable major.
Changing a major may affect some minors. If you already have the minimum classes required for graduation, do not feel shy do drop some classes for the minor that you no longer need. Only keep the classes that are very useful for your career.
Your Overall Schedule
Most Students take up side jobs to supplement their college budget; you too are likely to follow suit. Other students are professionals who decided to add an extra course to their resume; therefore, they should schedule their time well so that it does not affect their work routine. Although some may request to work a night shift, they should not exhaust themselves too much during the day to the point of affecting their productivity.
When selecting classes, maybe they sounded too easy, or you did not expect they have a huge workload.
Your daily schedule may be so overwhelming, and the locations of your classes may be so apart. It may cause you to miss some of the classes. At the end of the semester, you have not covered half the course content. Drop some extra classes and stick to the compulsory ones; you will save yourself from stress and failure.
The Experience was below Expectation
When you are picking a class, you expect to learn some lessons. However, they may fall below your expectations. Maybe what you will learn at the end of the semester is something that you have learnt on your own. If there is no new information you are likely to learn, there is no need to waste your precious time. Drop that class and focus your energies elsewhere.
In some instances, the class may be teaching what you did not want to learn. Maybe you wanted to learn about digital marketing, but the class is teaching about marketing strategies. You may consider dropping the class and self-train yourself with resources available over the internet.
Another reason would be, you did not expect to fail when you were adding it in the list of extra classes. Do not continue to surprise yourself with D’s; just drop it and save your face.
Personal Issues
Some issues are not school-related that may cause you to drop some classes. A solid reason may be health complications.
At the beginning of the semester, you may be all healthy and fit, so you decided to take many classes. In your mind, you think you will take fewer classes in the subsequent semesters so that you can take a part-time job, or start a company so that you have some extra money for personal expenses. Unfortunately, within the semester, you fall sick, or sink into depression, or have an accident. You will need to drop some extra classes to avoid stressing yourself too much.
Other reasons may be family-related. Your parents have disagreed and have opted for a divorce. As a child of the family, your parents inform you of their decision. The shock may be too much that you cannot focus on your studies; therefore, you need to reduce the classes to avoid failure.
Should You Consider Withdrawing Over Dropping?
Some students opt for withdrawing a class over dropping. You should note that when you withdraw a class, it will reflect on the transcript. On the other hand, if you drop, it will not reflect. You will not have too many things to explain to your interviewers.
When you drop a class, you can to take another one. However, when you withdraw, you are not granted the right to add another class. Therefore, there are more advantages to dropping a class to withdrawing from the same.
The drop/add days of classes are within the first week of the semester. Therefore, you should make up your mind fast before the end of the week. If you find out you do not need the class later, you may only need to withdraw.
When you withdraw you
Can You Avoid Dropping a Class Despite Hating It?
Yes. You can avoid dropping a class. If your reasons to drop are not so strong, or they are not affecting your health, you may visit your professor to guide you on how to review your sessions. There are some instances that you are allowed to take an incomplete.
Wrap Up
You do not need to stick into that class you have started to hate within the first session. Just drop it for the sake of your sanity and GPA. You will be glad you took that decision before it is too late.